Can anyone name this Allium please

I bought a mixed bag of Allium year before last had loads come up here there and everywhere last year, well i managed to ID all of them. then this year this one has suddenly appeared...don't remeber planting anymore so i am assuming that it was from last year and just did'nt flower? at first i thought it was a bluebell when it appeared, but now it is flower i am sure it is'nt although it does have a simular growing habit. it is quite low growing and clump forming and has a strong garlic smell..i would really like to know the variety if anyone reconsies it - can't find it in any of my books - unless ofcourse it is'nt an Allium at all - then i would be looking in the wrong place lol, - can anyone help?

19 Apr, 2009

Answers

This bulb looks very much like a plant we put in our garden a few years ago and are now finding it hard to get rid of.

It looks very much like Allium triquetrum {Three Cornered Leek} and although the flowers look really nice in the spring and adds a nice bit of early colour once it gets a hold it is difficult to eradicate.We have tried digging it out but if you leave any of the tiny bulbs in the ground,they will soon sprout next year and within a few years there will be large clumps of it spreading through the border.

When our snowdrops have gone back down into the soil we might have to think about spraying with a weedkiller like Roundup just to get rid of it.

If the plant is allowed to seed then the balck seeds will fall to the ground and will soon germinate to produce even more plants.

oh dear, thanks for the warning Tina, i wondered where it had come from, is it a wild variety do you know? i know some of the wild ones can be a real pain in the rear, it sounds like i should get it out then?

Hi Majeekahead,The seeds can be dispersed either by ants or water if they fall into flowing water in the wild.If you haven't bought the bulbs yourself then I am wondering if they might have come into your garden by bird seed if you happen to feed the birds in your garden.We got our chickery plant that way,although we love it for it's blue flowers...

We made the mistake of buying a pot full when they were in flower at a local nursery and as I have said previously we now have a large patch of them in our North border as they like shady conditions,but the dam things are now swamping plants I want to keep.I had some Puschkinina bulbs in the same area but forgot all about them and when I tried getting rid of the Allium last year must have thrown away my Puschkinia bulbs by mistake so have had to go out and buy some more...

If you want to keep them then perhaps you could put them in a pot if you can dig out ALL of the bulbs but even then they will drop the seeds.I even tried picking off all the seed pods before they dropped but staill have had loads coming up this year so might have to resort to using the weedkiller for once...

I have something very similar under the name of A.paradoxum also described as spreading freely by bulbils. [i think i read somewhere it was a dutch native] prefers a sunny site. google it and see if this is an alternative for the A.triquetrum. dead heading seems a good answer to help contain it though.

Yes, the bad news is this one is a PEST. As has already been said, don't let it flower and dig out every single bulb and bulbil. I had it here a few years ago and still get the odd seedling coming up. Good luck - you're going to need it!

Allium triquestrum has three sided leaves as well as smelling VERY strongly of garlic.
Allium paradoxum is as said another invasive species, but A. paradoxum var. normale is a lovely plant which is very well behaved.

Thanks for the advice, i am not sure which mine is, but it is strongly scented of garlic, very possible it has come from bird seed as i always have feeders going for the birds. at the moment it is in quite a large bed that i would'nt want taken over with it, but i do have a shady area on the edge of the patio, at the base of a large lilac tree, at the moment only ivy will grow there, i did want something white flowering to go around the base. i have tried all sorts there without much luck, it is completely cut off from any other beds, by the patio so maybe i could give it a try there? it is very pretty. thank you all.